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WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin was looking for his breakout game — and boy, did the Devils oblige him.

Ovechkin scored three goals in a game for the first time since Jan. 22, 2011, leading the last-place Capitals to a much-needed 5-1 victory over the Devils yesterday.

“All I can tell you is that we have to find a way to slow him down and stop him,” said Devils coach Peter DeBoer, whose team lost for the third time in four games, “and we didn’t do that.”

Not even close.

“You know what kind of player he is,” said Devils goalie Johan Hedberg, who was making his fifth start this season and first in a week as Martin Brodeur got a day off. “You let him execute, he’s going to hurt you.”

Ovechkin has been something less than the player who stormed into the NHL by averaging 53 goals over his first five seasons, with two MVP awards. That average dipped to 35 goals the past two seasons, and he hadn’t even scored two goals in a game since a loss to Winnipeg on March 23, 2012. He entered yesterday with just five goals this season — going without a point in half of Washington’s previous 16 games, including Thursday’s 3-2 loss to New Jersey — but broke out in a big way with his 11th career hat trick.

Alternating between his customary left wing and the right side, precisely how Capitals coach Adam Oates wants, Ovechkin put Washington ahead 1-0 by sending a one-timer past Hedberg from the left circle off a pass from Mike Ribeiro, who finished with two assists.

Ovechkin celebrated by dropping to a knee and pumping his right fist before spinning and skating over to the boards to slam against the glass with both gloves.

“You want to see your go-to guy get some,” Oates said. “Him scoring first for us gets the place going. The fans love him. The place is rocking. It obviously helps the team.”

Ilya Kovalchuk’s goal with 37.5 seconds left in the second period tied the game for the Devils, but Ovechkin put Washington ahead to stay 1:23 into the third on a rush. This one was a “rocket,” as Hedberg put it, from the right circle, through the legs of defenseman Anton Volchenkov.

Ovechkin’s third goal was on a power play, with a little under 5 minutes remaining. He also added an assist later on Troy Brouwer’s power play goal, for good measure.

Yes, and as Ovechkin goes, so go the Capitals.

Washington came into the game with an 0-7-1 record against the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference, and 5-10-1 overall, good for just 11 points, the fewest in the 30-team league.